Nick Martinez is having a career year. The first-time All-Star has 15 wins and a 2.94 earned run average heading into the season’s final weekend. And he’s a key reason the Tampa Bay Rays won the American League East and clinched home-field advantage in the AL playoffs.
It’s been a long road to stardom for the former Fordham baseball standout. Martinez was drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2011, weeks after he completed his junior year at the Gabelli School of Business. Since then, he’s played for four Major League clubs and two in Japan. He also pitched for Team USA in the Olympics, earning a silver medal at the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021.
Now, at 36, his eyes are set on his first World Series title.
Earlier this week, he pitched the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, just hours before more than 1,100 members of the Fordham community watched his Rays clinch the division during the annual Fordham Night at the ballpark.
Fordham Magazine caught up with Martinez to discuss his outstanding season and the road ahead.
What was it like returning to Rose Hill to work out earlier this week?
It was great. We were graced by some beautiful weather, and Coach Leighton was obviously very kind to open the field and let me get on there before the guys got practice going. For me, it’s just like going back home. I was able to go back earlier this year, as well, when we played the Yankees. And so any chance I get to go back and either just walk around or get on the field and toss a little bit, it’s always nice to do that.
And then you got to meet with Fordham folks in between games on Tuesday.
That was a lot of fun. The timing was perfect, with me pitching the first game of the doubleheader, and then they had Fordham Night. A lot of them were saying that they wished I was pitching the night game on Fordham Night. That would’ve been cool for them, but selfishly, I’m happy that I was able to go up there to the stands and say hello to the president, say hello to some Fordham alums, and enjoy the moment a little.
You must have gone to college with a lot of Yankees fans. How do they feel about you pitching for the Rays in a season where both teams battled for the division and could meet in the playoffs?
I still talk to a lot of my college teammates, and a few of them are from New York. They always tell me they root for the Yankees unless I’m pitching, and then they’re hoping for a close game. I have a great time pitching here. I came to games when I was at Fordham and would root for the Yankees. There’s an extra gear that you always seem to find pitching at this stadium, with the history and all that stuff. So I’ve always really enjoyed pitching here.
What was it like to make your first All-Star team more than a decade since your debut?
Yeah, it was a special moment for me. Obviously it took me a while. Truthfully, it wasn’t anything I really worked towards. I just try to keep my focus on helping the team win ballgames and helping the team get to the playoffs and ultimately win a World Series. But to be recognized by my peers as one of the best in the game this season is really humbling, and it’s an honor to be able to do that even this late in my career. I had a great time, and being surrounded by feature Hall of Famers, perennial All-Stars, just that level of talent—it’s addicting to be around greatness all the time, and you always want to surround yourself with that. So I really, really cherished the moment and tried to take it in as much as I could.
Was there a highlight from All-Star Weekend for you?
My favorite part was the Home Run Derby, just because knowing you’re not pitching that day, you get to soak it in—the crowd, the environment, being around the All-Stars, watching bombs on the field, the fireworks. All that stuff was probably the most fun for me. And chatting with Justin Verlander, knowing it’s his last year, and he was also just taking it all in and having a good time with the guys.
What did you learn from your time playing in Japan?
It was an opportunity for me to grow and hone my craft. I understood my arsenal a lot better. I matured mentally, physically, and just had a better understanding of the game. While I was in Japan, I learned more about the biomechanics of pitching, learned how my body moves. I learned a new pitch. And then on the mental side, just that mental fortitude of just staying in a game, getting reps in a game where I’m throwing close to 120 pitches, and you’ve got to learn how to pitch three, four times through the lineup while you’re out there, because pitching once a week, they give you a little bit of a longer leash.
You’ve been in the postseason before, but you’ve never gotten to a World Series. Do you allow yourself to think about that?
Yeah. It’s what we play for, to win a World Series. We don’t just play to win a division or just get to the postseason. I think ultimately as players, we’re trying to win a World Series and be a champion. But having said that, I think our focus is just one game at a time. What can we do to win this one game? And then we’ll tackle tomorrow when it gets here.
Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Joe DeLessio ’06.
